Questions and Comments
Recent research findings and success reports
from the field are always helpful, as
are funding opportunities. The newsletter
has been a good resource for me.
— Racie M.
Page 5 of the publication [Vol. 15 #3]
includes an article entitled “Emergency
Operations Centers: Core Elements, Core
Personnel, and Recommendations.” The
article talks about school districts establishing
Emergency Operations Centers. In
Missouri we reserve the term “Emergency
Operations Center” to refer to the central
command location established by the
local jurisdiction. In the Incident Command
System, the incident commander
has a command post. Our plans call for
school-level incident command posts and
district-level area command posts. We expect
the school district to have a liaison at
the jurisdiction’s Emergency Operations
Center as appropriate. School districts
have plenty on their plate without taking
on the establishment of an Emergency
Operations Center. The school district
emergency operations plan should be
based on and aligned with the local jurisdiction
emergency operations plan under
which the Emergency Operations Center
operates. The Missouri model facilitates
that relationship.
— Russ T.
Thank you for writing to us with
feedback on the latest issue of The
Challenge. We appreciate your time and
the work your center is doing in the
area of safe schools and particularly
emergency management education. We
are eager to share as much information
as possible so that school administrators
and faculty become familiar with
the framework and the terminology
associated with emergency operations.
I enjoyed the articles on truancy and
suggestions for reaching out to parents.
Sometimes it seems like an uphill battle
with certain students but my school takes
a real interest in making sure the kids
make it to class. We try to connect with
the parents by phone or e-mail right
away if one of our students is absent
without an excuse.
–Christine L., New York
It is amazing how easy it is for kids to
miss school and what a difference just
a phone call can make. As a teacher, I
know it’s not always easy to get parents
on the phone but as a parent I want to
know if my son is skipping even one class!
Thanks for writing about the problems
with truancy.
–Morgan B., Tennessee
I would like to see issues of legal significance [such as] cell phone abuse, special
education litigation, etc.
—Anonymous Web comment
Continue with the great work. I share
your periodical with our EOP [emergency
operations planning] committee.
—Anonymous Web comment
I was concerned when talking about
school violence—especially the Amish incident
and Virginia tech (and several other
shootings)—the issue of gender was not
discussed. [In] both incidents the person
attacked women. Not addressing this is a
deep concern.
—Anonymous Web comment
The REMS links to go-kits didn’t work and I was interested in it.
—Anonymous Web comment
The reference to the REMS TA Center Web address in Vol. 15, No. 1 contained an error. The correct address is http://rems.ed.gov (no www). Click on the Publications link to find the Helpful Hints series. The go-kits are described in Vol. 1, Issue 2.
• • •
In our district the administration is not taking the preparation for a possible pandemic flu very seriously. Any suggestions?
—Anonymous Web comment
A potential influenza pandemic could pose serious public health and social challenges should it develop and spread in an unmitigated fashion. If a strain of the influenza virus develops for which the population has little or no immunity and the strain is highly virulent, the consequences could be dire. Experts predict that if the population faced an influenza virus similar to the strain that caused the 1918 pandemic and the spread was unmitigated, up to 20 percent of the adult population would be ill at one time and about 40 percent of children. It is assumed that during any wave of the pandemic, 40 percent of the workforce would be absent at one time. There will likely be several waves of a pandemic, each lasting six to eight weeks, each with about a two-week peak of illness.
The U.S. government has identified several approaches that, when combined, may be able to limit the spread of the virus and lower transmission and death rates. One such approach is closing schools and dismissing students at the first sign of a highly infectious pandemic. Experts recommend that schools be closed for the duration of several waves of the virus, potentially up to 12 weeks. Clearly, this poses enormous challenges for schools, with considerations ranging from paying teachers to continuing educational content.
The district should consider pandemic planning as part of its overall all-hazards planning process. The threat of a pandemic may seem remote, but each year, schools are routinely closed down due to a range of infectious diseases, such as influenza or stomach viruses. Plans should be broad enough to include response to infectious disease outbreaks and specific enough to include the unique aspects of pandemic planning, such as long-term school closures. For additional information about pandemic planning, please see http://www.pandemicflu.gov. For questions related to schools, please contact Dana Carr at dana.carr@ed.gov.
"Hello, I was wondering if the newsletter is available in Spanish? I’m the Health Coordinator for our school district. When I sent the newsletter to the principals and asked them to consider using some of the information to send to parents, they replied that their policy states that they won’t send information unless it’s available in English and Spanish. It’s such good “stuff,” that I hate to keep it from getting out there. Either way, thanks for such great information."
– Katy F., Colorado
We only print an English language version of the newsletter, but we have a translation feature on the Web site. Readers can select from eight languages (Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Portuguese, and Chinese) using the Babel Fish translation option. Just go to the Web site and look for the icon at the top left of the page. Choose the flag representing
the language you want and the entire
site, including current articles and links,
is translated to that language. Please note
that you'll need to have certain characters
installed on your computer for some of the
languages to display properly.
"I never realized how much the flu pandemic [sic] might affect my classroom. Thank you very much for the very helpful information."
– Athena H., Colorado
"The newsletter about pandemic flu had a lot of valuable advice, but you didn’t mention the recommendations about stocking food and water at home. If people are unable to work and being advised to stay home, it may be really difficult to find enough supplies at the grocery store—if it’s even open. I remind everyone that they need to be prepared at home as well as at school or other places of employment. Some people suggest having enough food and water for two or three weeks for your family. I thought this might be valuable to your readers."
—Bill W., Georgia
"With childhood obesity being such a
disturbing (and, unfortunately, valid)
concern, I’m thankful to work for a school
that places a great deal of emphasis on
health and physical fitness. I realize that
schools often cut back on P.E. classes and
recess in an effort to boost test scores, but
I’d be interested to learn if there’s a correlation
between childhood obesity and
academic performance."
– Michelle M., Arkansas
The short answer is yes, obesity and
academic performance are connected.
The relationship is complex though, and
researchers are increasingly looking at the
connection between nutrition and lifestyle
and their impact on academic performance.
Studies find that fit children who eat
regular, nutritious meals experience
greater academic success and have fewer
behavioral and health problems that can
interfere with learning.
As students get older, the psychological
impact of being overweight (or underweight)
also has bearing on their academic
performance. When teens are teased about
their weight, it can be diffi cult for them to
concentrate and feel good about school.
Some studies fi nd that obese children miss
more school than their average-weight
schoolmates and this clearly has an impact
on their academic performance. Additional
studies fi nd that more obese children think
of themselves as poor students compared
to students of average weight.
Your school may be interested in additional
funding for physical fitness programs.
ED sponsors the Carol M. White Physical
Education Program to adinster grants
for schools to meet physical education
standards. Visit http://www.ed.gov/
programs/whitephysed/index.html for
more information about these grants.
Encouraging healthy eating habits and
supporting physical activity on a daily basis
are important factors for every student.
We’re happy to hear your school is active
in promoting health as a big part of the
learning environment.
"I enjoyed reading the recent article on
protective factors (Vol. 14, No.2). Working
on skills that can help kids make
better choices and feel connected to school
is important to me and in my classroom.
Thanks for a timely topic."
– Liz S., Texas
"I have appreciated the newsletter and its format. Also appreciate that I can access it [online] when I need it and not have additional paper sitting around."
—Anonymous Web comment
"It would be helpful to see the newsletter make a section specifically for issues in remote and rural areas as well as ethnic information. Love the Web sites you suggest."
—Anonymous Web comment
"I enjoy the articles because they are short, relevant and easy to read quickly."
—Anonymous Web comment
"I would like to see more information
included that shows that school nurses
(RNs) are key players in the educational
success of students. During my 30 years
as a school nurse, I [have seen how] we
are making a difference in the lives and
education of children from our “holistic”
approach (nursing, education, community
health, research, etc). As a nurse, I
have been able to impact the health and
safety of children by fi nding resources
and making appropriate referrals to
reduce or remediate many health-related
barriers to their education. Many times
I have worked with teachers to help
them understand a child’s disabilities or
encourage use of alternatives that would
allow the child to feel successful; often, for
the fi rst time in the child’s life."
—Shirley R., Arizona
Health resources are vital to schools. We
appreciate the nurse professionals who
work in schools to help keep our students
safe and healthy and strive to highlight
meaningful information for all school staff.
"I’m program coordinator for a schoolbased
mentoring program that serves
fi ve school districts in Ohio. We match
adult volunteers with students to work on
problem-solving skills and goal building.
The problem is that we make progress
only to return the child home to an environment
that takes us back fi ve steps. Is
there a support program for parents that
encourages them to learn about parenting
styles?" —Cathy D., Ohio
Commitment to school is a protective factor for young people, as is having a supportive relationship with a caring adult—even if it’s not a parent. So your program is adding a buffering effect for these students who may have poor supervision or family conflict. However, adding a parental component would welcome more protection for these students. There are several programs to help parents establish clear expectations, manage conflict, and communicate more effectively. These include Guiding Good Choices, Incredible Years, and the Strengthening Families Program. Programs are developed for various age groups and are delivered in group settings over a course of several sessions.
Guiding Good Choices - The parent segment has guidelines for interactive sessions (includes videos, family activities, and exercises) that are designed for 10 sessions of 1 hour, or five 2-hour sessions. Topics include managing family conflict and strengthening family bonds. You can find materials (program guide, workshop items, family workbooks) online at www.channing-bete.com.
Incredible Years - The program has a parenting group component that suggests weekly sessions of 2 hours. It includes group support and parenting skills training. It's online at www.incredibleyears.com.
Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 - Small groups are designed for youth to meet together and parents meet separately and then everyone comes together for a second hour to engage in discussion, practice parent skills, build communication abilities, and improve problem solving. Materials and more information are available at www.extension.iastate.edu/sfp.
Providing transportation, food, and childcare can help encourage parent participation.
You may already be aware of the Mental Health Association of Southwest Ohio, but I found they have a clearinghouse of support groups and you might find helpful information from one or more of the parent groups listed there. It's online at www.mentalhealthassn.org and there's a link to "Support Group Clearinghouse" on the home page.
Send questions, comments, or suggestions
to The Challenge via e-mail at informationcnl@thechallenge.org.
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